Mirabai Chanu and Jeremy Lalrinnunga qualify for Tokyo Olympics, confirms Indian weightlifting federation


Mirabai Chanu and Jeremy Lalrinnunga qualify for Tokyo Olympics, confirms Indian weightlifting federation

According to the President of Indian Weightlifting federation Sahdev Yadav, both Mirabai Chanu and Jeremy Lalrinnunga have already qualified for Tokyo Olympics which were postponed due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

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Mirabai is currently ranked 8th while Jeremy is placed 22nd in the International Weightlifting Federation ranking lists, top 8 weightlifters from each weight class will all be able to qualify for Tokyo Olympics.

Yadav said in a statement that there is no doubt over these two weightlifters. “It is clear cut they make the grade as per the world rankings. In the case of Jeremy, he is the top lifter in Asia. The second behind him lags by a huge number of ranking points, so even if he is going to make a world record in competitions later, it will not suffice,” said Yadav.

He added in a statement that “They are safe and secure, only on athlete per room. They are training as discussed with the coaches and the Sports Authority of India. The lifters have been given around 25kg weights to do some amount of training. There is no need to be going full throttle now,”. The president feels there is nothing to worry about in the current situation as the Indian weightlifting camp is based at the NIS Patiala.

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According to his view Patiala is great and safe for all the lifters. “Had they gone back home to their respective states it could be unpredictable because of COVID-19. Here, we know they are in safe confines,” said Yadav.

After the virus runs out, Indian Weightlifters will take participate in more events and competitions. “We will let Mirabhai compete in it more for practice. I am hopeful a few more Indians can qualify and we have high hopes from Rakhi Halder, who did well at the national championship. I am also hopeful about Ajay Singh He can also make the cut. These two will have enough chances to qualify when the next competition cycle begins,” Yadav said.

Sahdev Yadav also said that Mirabhai Chanu was out for a long time because of her back injury and from now till the date of the Tokyo Olympics, she will have good time to be at her best.